Monday, February 12, 2018

A speed coaching and networking event powered by bizwomen

Mentors

Beena Ammanath | Global Vice President, Hewlett Packard EnterpriseBeena is an award winning senior digital transformation leader with extensive global experience in Artificial Intelligence, big data, data science and IoT. Her knowledge spans across e-commerce, financial, marketing, telecom, retail, software products, services and industrial domains with companies such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise, GE, Thomson Reuters, British Telecom, Bank of America, e*trade and a number of Silicon Valley startups. She is currently the Global Vice President for Big data, Artificial Intelligence and Innovation at HPE. Prior to that she was the Vice President of Innovation and Data Sciences at GE. She is also the founder and CEO of nonprofit, Humans For AI Inc. She has co-authored the book “AI Transforming Business”.A well-recognised thought leader and keynote speaker in the industry, she also serves on the Industrial Advisory Board at Cal Poly University and is a Board Advisor to Predii and iguazio.Beena has been honored several times for her contribution to tech and her philanthropic efforts, including the San Francisco Business Times’ 2017 Most Influential Women in Bay Area, WITI’s Women in Technology Hall of Fame, National Diversity Council’s Top 50 Multicultural Leaders in Tech, CIO.com and Drexel University’s Analytics 50 innovator, Forbes Top 8 Female Analytics Experts and Women Super Achiever Award from World Women’s Leadership Congress.Beena thrives on envisioning and architecting how data, artificial intelligence and technology can make our world a better, easier place to live.

Nandita Bakhshi | CEO of Bank of the WestNandita Bakhshi is President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of the West, Chief Executive Officer of BancWest, and co-Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas USA Inc. Bakhshi also serves on the Board of Directors of Bank of the West, BancWest and BNP Paribas USA, and is a member of Bank of the West’s Executive Management Committee.Named one of the top 5 Most Powerful Women in Banking in 2017 by American Banker and the #1 Woman to Watch in Banking in 2016, Bakhshi has been involved in diverse aspects of banking during her nearly 30-year career. Since joining Bank of the West in mid-2016, she has led a major rebranding, sharpened the bank’s focus on the customer experience, begun to build a culture of innovation, and solidified Bank of the West’s reputation as the local bank with global expertise.As President and CEO, Bakhshi – known to employees as “Nandita” – oversees the bank’s three main business lines of Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking and Wealth Management as well as its functional lines – a total team of 10,000 employees in more than 20 states.Prior to joining Bank of the West in 2016, Bakhshi served with TD Bank, where she held several leadership positions, including Executive Vice President and Head of North American Direct Channels. In that role, she was responsible for driving innovation in direct and electronic channels to improve digital adoption and provide customers a unified banking experience. Earlier, she served as Executive Vice President and Head of Consumer Banking at TD Bank in the U.S.Before TD Bank, Bakhshi was Executive Vice President of Consumer Deposits and Payments at Washington Mutual in Seattle, now JP Morgan Chase. Bakhshi has also held leadership positions at FleetBoston, now Bank of America, as well as at First payments division.Bakhshi is a member of the FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion. She also serves on the Global Board of Directors of Operation Hope, the Board of Trustees of World Affairs and the Supervisory Board of The Clearing House.She was recognized as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business in 2017 by the San Francisco Business Times, and was one of three CEOs honored with the inaugural Inspire Award for women who are leading their companies with creativity, integrity and strategic vision.Bakhshi holds a Master of Arts degree in international relations from Jadavpur University and a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Calcutta.

Mentors

Deborah Boyer | Executive Vice President, The Swig CompanyDeborah Boyer is Executive Vice President and Director of Asset Management for The Swig Company, a privately owned real estate investor operator based in San Francisco with a venerable 80-year history of investment, development, partnership and management of commercial properties in major US markets. Current real estate holdings include a diversified urban office portfolio of approximately 9 million square feet, primarily invested in Northern and Southern California and Manhattan.Deborah joined the company in 2005 with over 20 years’ experience with major real estate owners and investors, providing her with a broad background in mixed-use commercial real estate including office, retail and hospitality.Attuned to the dynamic changes occurring in the commercial real estate industry, Deborah’s key focus is on the evolving workplace. By building strong, strategic partnerships with innovators in CRE tech and flex office solutions and continually incorporating new workplace models and technology in Swig’s portfolio buildings, Deborah has successfully positioned the company as an owner/investor at the forefront of emerging commercial real estate trends.Deborah serves on several real estate and community boards including Building Owners and Managers Association, SPUR (an urban research association), Global Workplace Association, Bay Area Better Business Bureau, and Oakland’s Lake Merritt/Uptown Community Benefit District. Deborah is a member of Lambda Alpha and she is recognized by the San Francisco Business Times as a Woman of Influence in Commercial Real Estate.

Lisa Ballantyne Turner | Vice President & General Manager, Turner ConstructionLisa is Vice President & General Manager of Turner Construction’s San Francisco Bay Area. She joined Turner in 1998intheir Boston office, previously working for a heavy highway contractor. She held various project and department roles for over her 14 years in Boston. In 2012 after managing the Special Projects Division for 5 years as VP & General Manager, Lisa relocated to Turner headquartersin New York City as Vice President ofthe Risk Management Department. Reporting to Turner’s President & CEO, Lisa was responsible for safety, insurance programs, surety, claims and legal. In 2014, she took on her current role where she isresponsible for the business operations and management of offices throughout the bay area. Lisa is active in industry groups and philanthropy. Recently she served on the Board of Overseers for the New England Aquarium until her relocation to the bay. She is on the Executive Leadership Team for Go Red for Women Bay Area and Chairperson for 2017 American Heart Association’s Hard Hat for Hearts. She currently serves on the executive committeefor the Tulane Fund Advisory Board, and this year co-chaired her 20threunion at Tulane. Lisa has a Bachelor’s of Science in Civil Engineering from Tulane(’97), and an MBA from Simmons School of Management(’02). A native of Massachusetts, Lisa now resides in Orinda, California, with her husband Brant, andsons Graham (age 13) and Brant (age 12.)Turner Construction is a leading construction company and the largest general builder in the United States with over 8,000 employees globally, and over $10 Billion of work performed annually.

Mentors

Tilly Chang | Executive Director, San Francisco County Transportation AuthorityTilly Chang serves as Executive Director of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. As the Congestion Management Agency and transportation sales tax administrator for San Francisco, the SFCTA collaborates with public agencies and the private sector to improve transportation options for residents, commuters and visitors alike. Ms. Chang has two decades of experience, including serving previously as the SFCTA’s Deputy Director for Planning. She has also held posts with the World Bank, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and a technology startup. Ms. Chang attended M.I.T. and UC Berkeley and serves on the boards of the California Transportation Foundation, SPUR and UC CONNECT.

Annabel R. Chang | Vice President, Bay Area, Alaska AirlinesAnnabel R. Chang is VP, Bay Area for Alaska Airlines and is a corporate officer. Annabel graduated with a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis and a B.A. in Political Science from UC Berkeley.

Christina Bui | Chief Revenue Officer and Senior Vice President of Business Development, Kranz & AssociatesChristina Bui is the Chief Revenue Officer and Senior Vice President of Business Development at Kranz & Associates. For over 23 years, Kranz has provided superior financial consulting and CFO advisory services to venture capital and private equity-backed companies, pre-revenue to post-IPO through all stages of the company’s lifecycle. Prior to joining Kranz, she was Vice President of Client Solutions for Robert Half, the world’s first and largest specialized staffing firm. Christina partners with the professional staffing divisions of Robert Half and the consulting organization of Protiviti, its wholly-owned subsidiary, to develop business consulting and project staffing engagements. With a focus on finance/accounting project-based engagements, she works with company executives to support their growth initiatives as well as transactions such as IPOs, mergers and acquisitions.Before joining Robert Half, Christina was an Associate Managing Partner for Tatum, a national interim CFO firm. Prior to joining Tatum, Christina was responsible for market development as Vice President for the Northwest region of Parsons Corporation, one of the largest engineering and construction firms. Christina has also worked with venture capital company Encore Capital Management where she performed financial analyses on investment opportunities for publicly traded companies. Within Encore Capital Management, she was involved with and helped launch a fund with one of the firm’s venture capital projects in Vietnam. Prior to Encore, Christina was part of the Corporate Government Affairs team of Johnson & Johnson and represented the healthcare company on Capitol Hill pertaining to corporate and health care issues.Christina holds a bachelor’s degree in Foreign Affairs and French from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in corporate finance from Johns Hopkins University. She was awarded “Most Influential Women in Business” in 2016 and 2017 in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times. Christina serves on the Board of Directors of Asian Pacific Fund, Association for Corporate Growth San Francisco, How Women Lead, and Asian Immigrant Women Advocates. She has Co-Chaired the Association for Corporate Growth’s M&A West Coast Conference six years in a row from 2012-2018 and Co-Chaired Women On Boards 2020 Conference in San Francisco in 2017-2018.

Mentors

Debbie Clifford | VP of Finance, AutodeskDebbie Clifford is a finance leader who embraces change and innovation to help companies achieve growth and maintain a competitive advantage in a changing world. She currently serves as the Vice President of Division Finance at Autodesk, a multi-national S&P 500 member and NASDAQ-listed design software leader. Debbie has held many roles at Autodesk during her 12-year tenure, including most recently serving as a lead architect of the company’s financial transformation from a perpetual software model to the cloud. She has a diverse background that includes a start in public accounting as well as senior finance roles at both public and private companies. Debbie holds an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a certified public accountant (inactive) in California and serves on the Board of Geohazards International.

Liz Davis | Dean of the School of Management, USF Dr. Elizabeth Davis has been the Dean of the School of Management since August 2014, and is the first female Dean in the School’s history. She is an expert in strategic management, organizational dynamics, sustainability, and business policy.Prior to her appointment at USF, she was Dean of the College of Business and a Professor of management at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Organizational Sciences and Communication, and Director of the Women’s Leadership Institute at George Washington University. She spent 12 years on the faculty of the School of Business at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.During her industry career, she was a researcher at Duke University Medical School, and then CEO of the National Disease Research Interchange, a biomedical research and technology firm based in Philadelphia.Dr. Davis received her Ph.D. in Systems Sciences from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and her B.A. in Sociology from Barnard College, Columbia University.The San Francisco Business Times named Dr. Davis one of the One Hundred “Most Influential Women” in 2015 and 2016 and in 2017 promoted her to a “Forever Influential Woman.”

Joy Chen | Chairman & CEO, H2O+ BeautyJoy Chen is the Chairman and CEO of H2O+ Beauty, a leading brand of premium, water-based skincare products. Under Joy’s leadership, H2O+ Beauty went through a comprehensive relaunch that included a sweeping shift in its business model and a revitalized look and feel, along with a renewed focus on innovation and entirely new performance-based product lines. As a result of this transformation, H2O+ Beauty celebrated its most award-winning year ever, with accolades for its new product lines, quality of leadership, and overall transformation, as well as accelerated growth, improvement in the company’s gross margin and profit.Prior to her role at H2O+ Beauty, Joy served as the CEO of Yes To, Inc. (2010-2014) overseeing the global natural skin and bodycare portfolio and catapulting the brand to the #2 ranking in the natural personal care category. Before joining Yes To, Joy spent 17 years at the Clorox Company, serving as Vice President and General Manager of the laundry business, a $1B+ business segment. Joy was awarded Most Admired CEO of the Year in 2012 and has been named the Most Influential Woman in the San Francisco Bay Area every year since 2013. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard University.

Mentors

Mandy Fields | CFO, BevMo!Mandy is a seasoned Finance Executive with experience leading teams across Finance, Investor Relations, Risk Management and Accounting—working for some of the country’s top retail companies, in both private and public settings. Mandy is currently Chief Financial Officer at BevMo! The #1 specialty beverage retailer on the West Coast.Prior to BevMo! Mandy was Vice President of Finance & Analytics for Albertsons Companies, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States.Prior to joining Albertsons Companies, Mandy held several Finance leadership roles for Gap Inc. Mandy started her career on Wall Street inInvestment Banking with JPMorgan in their Equity Capital Markets group. In her time there she took several companies through the IPO process, as well as executed follow-on offerings for existing public companies. Mandy received her degree in Finance from Indiana University, Kelley School of Business and was recently recognized as one of the Top Women in Bay Area Business by the SF Business Times (2017).

Alicia Donahue | Partner, Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLPA native San Franciscan, Alicia chairs the firm’s pharmaceutical and medical device litigation group and served as the managing partner of the San Francisco office from 2005-2011. She has represented drug and device manufacturers for more than 30 years. Alicia currently serves as the firm’s Relationship Partner for Pfizer, Inc. and Hoffmann-La Roche, and represents these companies in mass tort litigation throughout the country. She also represents Bayer in various California litigations, including Mirena and Cipro. In 2006, she represented Philip Morris in a 10-week trial of a case brought by an individual smoker with lung cancer in which Philip Morris received a unanimous defense verdict.Alicia has a broad range of litigation experience and is well-known to local judges, arbitrators and lawyers on both sides of the bar in multiple practice areas. Prior to joining Shook in 2000, Alicia was at Sedgwick, where she worked on a variety of drug and device cases, including acting as Regional Counsel for Bristol Myers Squibb, coordinating the defense of individual breast implant cases in 6states: California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, and Arizona. While at Sedgwick, Alicia tried five cases on behalf of the Dalkon Shield Claimants’ Trust. Early in her career and before joining Sedgwick, Alicia served as local counsel on the DES litigation in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Elizabeth Dollar | Partner, Moss AdamsLiz has practiced public accounting since 2000 and provides professional services to a wide variety of not-for-profit clients, including art and theater organizations, institutions of higher education, associations, and private foundations. Along with providing accounting and consulting services, Liz conducts a wide variety of audits, including federal compliance audits. As a national subject matter expert for the not-for-profit industry, Liz regularly presents at industry conferences such as the Council on Foundations (COF) Endowment Forum and the COF Annual Conference on subjects related to Foundation financial statement trends, endowments and split-interest agreements, spending and investment policies and issues facing not-for-profit organizations.

Mentors

Rosanne Foust | President & CEO, San Mateo County Economic Development Association (SAMCEDA)As the President & CEO of the San Mateo County Economic Development Association (SAMCEDA), Ms. Foust is a leading voice of the business community in San Mateo County and across the Bay Area on issues important to maintaining a strong local and regional economy, attracting and retaining major employers and good jobs, and creating partnerships between business and government to address the critical issues of affordable housing, mobility improvements, and maintaining a good quality of life.Previously, Ms. Foust had a twenty-year career with Alsace Development International USA, Inc. As Executive Vice President & Treasurer of the Corporation she managed offices in Boston, Los Angeles, Redwood City and Sydney, Australia.Ms. Foust served for twelve years on the City Council in Redwood City, including as Mayor and Vice Mayor. During her tenure she successfully negotiated the Development Agreement to bring Stanford University to the community, oversaw the building of a brand new Public Library in Redwood Shores, approved a $90 million recycled water plant and secured funding to restore Bair Island. She is also credited with working tirelessly on Redwood City’s Downtown Precise Plan which served as the catalyst for the transformation of Redwood City’s downtown. Ms. Foust also served on the boards of the San Mateo County Transportation Authority and the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority.Today Ms. Foust serves on the boards of United American Bank, NOVA-Workforce Investment Board, Redwood City Improvement Association, Peninsula Television, Casa de Redwood, the Bay Area Council Economic Institute and the RWC-SMC Chamber.Ms. Foust holds an MA in Public Administration; BA in International Studies and Economics; completed multiple Executive Education programs at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and the Executive Management program at UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management.Ms. Foust has been honored by the San Francisco Business Times as one of the “Most Influential Women in Business in the Bay Area” from 2009 until the present.

Rachel Flynn | Vice President, FivePointRachel Flynn joined FivePoint in 2016 as Vice President of Planning. Prior to this, she was Director of Planning and Building for the City of Oakland. She served in similar roles for the capital city, Richmond, Virginia, as well as Lynchburg, Virginia. Rachel is a licensed architect and practiced for several years in various cities, including Washington, D.C., New York, Boston, Toronto, Tel Aviv, and Abu Dhabi.In her current role, she oversees Lennar’s redevelopment of the former Concord Naval Weapons Station. This involves the transformation of the 2,300 acre site into a master planned development that includes housing, office, retail, open space, schools, a university campus, and a sports complex.Rachel is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions from organizations such as the Jobs and Housing Coalition of Oakland, the SF Business Times, the Sierra Club of Virginia, the American Institute of Architects, the American Planning Association, and the Governor of Virginia. She currently serves on the Boards of Holy Names University, Head Royce School, and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) San Francisco. Rachel is a graduate of Harvard University.

Mentors

Karen Frank | Partner, Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLPKaren Frank’s practice covers virtually every aspect of intellectual property, including copyright, trademark, domain names, unfair competition, right of publicity, branding and advertising, privacy and the Internet. She represents clients in a diverse range of industries, including finance, advertising, technology, food, wine, luxury goods, fashion, music, entertainment, education, and more. Her practice focuses on licensing and services agreements, print and electronic publishing agreements, intellectual property counseling, clearance and enforcement, content acquisition and performance issues, advertising clearance, and rights and privacy issues relating to websites and the Internet.Karen is past president of the Copyright Society of the USA; former chair of the Copyright Society of Northern California; a member of the American Law Institute, and a member of the International Trademark Association. Karen is an annual member of the faculty for the Practicing Law Institute (PLI) Advanced Intellectual Property Institute and is a frequent speaker on intellectual property issues.Karen has served on the Boards of Directors of the Lake Tahoe Summerfest, Legal Community Against Violence, the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce, and Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation. She volunteers with Bay Area YearUp and Foster a Dream.Karen received her undergraduate degree from Connecticut College and her law degree from the University of California, Hastings School of Law where she was Executive Articles Editor for COMM/ENT Journal of Communications and Entertainment Law.

Meghan Freebeck | CEO, Project Homeless Connect Founder & Board President, Simply the BasicsMeghan Freebeck has a deep passion for providing people with their most basic needs and ensuring that every person feels dignified regardless of their income or housing status.Meghan has successfully directed nonprofit organizations to greater achievements, increased opportunities for underserved communities, strengthened funding and strategic partnerships, and mentored colleagues and peers to reach their own personal and professional endeavors.Meghan is the founder and President of Simply the Basics and CEO of Project Homeless Connect. In the beginning of her nonprofit career in Chicago, Meghan was Community Relations Manager of an interim housing homeless program. She moved to the Bay Area in 2013 as Deputy Director at San Francisco Suicide Prevention, where she developed core programs such as the Peer Workforce Supportive Services.It was a heartache over the state of homelessness in this new city that led her to begin Simply the Basics with a feminine hygiene product drive to meet the needs of all homeless. Since then, she has grown the program to become what it is today – the very first Hygiene Bank in the Nation – improving the overall health and wellbeing of the community and saving nonprofits hours of time a week.In 2016, Meghan was honored as a top “40 Under 40” in San Francisco for her leadership in nonprofit organizations. She has been recognized as a “Change-maker” at the United State of Women Summit in DC and is a 2015 “National Daily Point of Light” award winner.In 2017, Meghan was honored as one of 11 Most Inspirational Women in San Francisco.

Mentors

Jessica Frushtick | VP of Marketing, Pacific Union International Real EstateJessica Grimes Frushtick is Vice President of Marketing for Pacific Union International, Inc. As a recognized leader in the real estate industry, Jessica has led all creative services, branding, and advertising strategy for Pacific Union since 2012. Her work has guided Pacific Union through its growth as a boutique luxury real estate brokerage to its current stage today as an emerging global brand with sales volume of $10.15 billion.As Vice President of Marketing, Jessica directs the integration and creative services of Pacific Union acquisitions. This includes the premier urban residential sales and marketing firm The Mark Company and the merger with Los Angeles-based luxury brokerages John Aaroe Group and Partners Trust seamlessly linking 1,500+ real estate professionals operating in 50+ offices throughout coastal California.Additionally, Jessica guides the rebranding and marketing of four joint operating ventures in mortgage, insurance, relocation, and property management services under the Pacific Union International brand. Her award-winning work at Pacific Union includes overseeing the brokerage’s industry-leading China Concierge program based in Beijing to support the wide needs of Pacific Union’s clients on the mainland.Jessica’s success is deeply rooted in her ability to establish and exceed sales and marketing goals. She manages company strategy, expansive resources, quality control, production efficiencies, and budgeting while maintaining strong relationships with her teams and Pacific Union leadership as an admired mentor and effective collaborator.Jessica established her reputation in the real estate industry as Director of Marketing at BRE Properties, Inc., She also led international brand marketing as brand manager and art director for Icon MediaLab abroad working in Hamburg, Milan, Singapore, and Sydney. Additionally, she held positions at Adobe Systems, Thieren & Co., Media 18 and Butterfield & Butterfield (now Bonhams).A native of San Francisco, Jessica holds a B.A. (Whittier College) a B.F.A. (Otis Parsons School of Design), as well as an M.B.A. (University of San Francisco). She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children.

Christine Huddleson | Managing Director, DeloitteChristine is a Managing Director with Deloitte Consulting, in the State and Local Government practice, focused on serving leading public health and commercial health care providers. With more than 19 years of experience, she leads the implementation of technology solutions to enhance health care delivery.She also leads Deloitte’s Women’s Initiative for the San Francisco office, coordinating efforts to attract, retain and advance women through a variety of professional development, mentoring, networking and community involvement events. Throughout her tenure at Deloitte, she has sponsored a range of initiatives to engage both women and men in the advancement of women’s careers, to help women realize their career potential while also balancing personal and family commitments.Prior to joining Deloitte, Christine worked for the California State Senate, focused on health and human services, workers’ compensation, and transportation issues. She received her MS in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University, and BA in Economics and Government from Claremont McKenna College. She lives in Alameda with her husband, Pete, and two daughters, Samantha, 10, and Cassie, 8.

Mentors

Jo Ilfeld | Founder & CEO, Success Reboot, LLCJo Ilfeld PhD is an executive leadership coach who works with C-suite leaders, executives and high potential managers to create more impact and influence in their organizations. She works with individuals, teams and organizations on 4 core areas of leadership development: leading with clarity of vision, mastering the art of results, developing influence, and deepening your executive presence. Jo’s clients have come from leading Bay Area companies including EBay, Cisco, Intel, BioMarin, PayPal, and Kaiser Permanente as well as many small to medium-sized companies and non-profit organizations. Jo is also a professor of Leadership Intelligence in the executive MBA program at Sonoma State. Prior to starting Incite To Leadership, Jo grew her first company into a million dollar business. She is a graduate of Yale College and holds a PhD in Business from UC Berkeley.

Leslie Katz | Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, LLPLeslie R. Katz focuses on government law and policy, including energy, telecommunications, blockchain, and other emerging technologies. She helps optimize the political, legal, community and business contexts in which her clients operate. Her ability to provide strategic counsel, for startups to Fortune 500 companies and public entities, comes from her diverse experiences in the public and private sectors. Recent work has included representing consumer distribution and technology operations in blockchain and cryptocurrency, a hedge fund for cryptocurrencies and multiple constituents, including start-ups, industry leaders, and technology arms in various emerging technologies, including Smart Cities.She is a former member of the Board of Supervisors for the City and County of San Francisco, serving as chair and/or vice chair of numerous committees. As a board member, Leslie drafted and helped pass significant legislation related to technology, the environment, economic development, labor and human rights. She was also elected to the San Francisco Community College Board of Trustees and has served on the Port Commission of San Francisco. Leslie also served as the regional vice president of regulatory affairs for a Fortune 250 energy-services company and held executive roles with several technology companies.She regularly speaks on public policy topics as well as on infrastructure, economic development, community relations, leadership development and technology-related issues. She was the recipient of the Digital Leaders Award, Community Technology Network, 2016 and Selected “Most Influential Women In Bay Area Business 2017,” San Francisco Business Times. She is also a Team Member, U.S. News - Best Lawyers®, Best Law Firms Edition, “Law Firm of the Year,” Environmental Law, 2016.

Mentors

Lauren Cooks Levitan | Chief Financial Officer, FanaticsLauren joined Fanatics as Chief Financial Officer in June 2015 and oversees accounting, financial planning, strategic analysis and investor relations to drive ongoing multi-channel growth across all divisions of the company. Lauren has more than 20 years of strong operational, financial and strategic experience across a variety of retail businesses. Lauren was most recently the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Moxie Capital LLC where she provided capital investment and advisory services to branded, consumer-facing businesses that operated in wholesale, retail, eCommerce and direct sales. Prior to launching Moxie Capital LLC, Lauren was a Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at Cowen & Co. where she established the investment bank’s inaugural consumer retail franchise, while also leading a team of analysts covering many other consumer sectors. She joined Cowen from Robertson Stephens, where she was a Managing Director covering specialty and multi-channel retail and was the first analyst to apply retail industry experience to the emerging online retail channel. Prior to joining Robertson Stephens, she worked in various capacities in the retail industry at Crate & Barrel and the Gymboree Corporation gaining experience in merchandising, inventory management and store operations. Earlier in her career, she worked in equity capital markets and investment banking at Goldman Sachs. Lauren, who earned an MBA from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Duke University, is a sports fan with particular passion for Duke basketball, Stanford football, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Blackhawks and the Chicago Bears.Lauren is active in initiatives to support women’s leadership development in business, including the Stanford GSB’s Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) where she serves on the Advisory Committee. Lauren is also Co-Chair of the Duke University Northern California Women’s Forum and is the former Chair of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Trust.

Nancy Lundeen | Partner, Allen Matkins, Leck, Gamble, Mallory & Natsis LLPNancy Lundeen is a partner in our San Francisco office with a diverse real estate practice. She is skilled in the full range of real estate transactions, including the purchase and sale of real estate, real estate finance, commercial leasing (including retail, office and industrial leasing), and loan workouts. Nancy’s clients range from large institutional clients to small companies, and include purchasers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, and landlords and tenants. She has represented such companies as Clinton Reilly Holdings, The Empire Group, First Republic Bank, Kinokuniya Book Stores of America, Lennar Commercial, Littler Mendelson, Meridian Pacific, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Monahan Pacific Corporation, New York Life Insurance Company, Rialto Capital Management, and Young’s Market Company.Nancy served as a panelist for the annual CEB course on Recent Developments in Real Property Law from 2001–2012.

Deidra Lieberman | Interim CEO, Professional Business Women of CaliforniaDeidra Lieberman is the Interim CEO of the Professional Business Women of California. The PBWC is California’s premiere non-profit organization working to support and advance professional women and achieve gender equality in professional settings. Prior to joining the PBWC, Deidra spent over 25 years in the radio industry having worked as a General Manager, VP of Sales, Director of Sales and General Sales Manager for companies such as ABC, Disney, Citadel, Cumulus, Entercom and Susquehanna Broadcasting. Deidra served on the Board of Directors for the Bay Area Society of Television and Radio, the PBWC and the Executive Committee for the Northern California Broadcasters Association. Deidra was recognized as one of the most influential women in radio by Radio Ink Magazine and one of the most influential women in Bay Area business by the San Francisco Business Times.

Mentors

Jillian Manus | Managing Partner, Structure CapitalJillian Manus is an experienced banking and media executive, a technology investor and entrepreneur. She is the Managing Partner of Structure Capital, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology companies. In her role with Structure Capital, Jillian provides strategic support to founding teams focused on creating value in underutilized assets and excess capacity. She serves on the boards of several of her portfolio companies, including Hyp3r, Iggbo, and Liquiglide. Prior to Structure Capital, Jillian was Founder of Broad Strategy, Manus Media and Global Goal Sports Management. Earlier in her career, Jillian worked in banking and media, serving as M&A co-director of TMT for Credit Suisse Zurich, and later as Director of Development for Universal and Warner Bros. Studios. She became interested in technology investing after serving as Associate Publisher of Upside, a San Francisco-based business and technology magazine for venture capitalists. Jillian chaired the Board of The Women’s Conference, where she joined California’s then First Lady Maria Shriver, to create the world’s largest conference addressing issues important to women. Jillian is an active philanthropist and sits on the boards of Stanford University Digital Health, Stanford University School of Medicine Board of Fellows, Duke Engage, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and Communities in Schools. As a frequent global public speaker, Jillian provides business and political commentary at events and in the media, primarily for Bloomberg and Fox News. Currently she serves as a co-host on the podcast The Pitch,which has been called “a better, more realistic version of Shark Tank. ”Jillian attended The University of Oxford and NYU, where she served on the Board of Trustees. She was named one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business 2016 by the San Francisco Business Times.

Gioia McCarthy | Consumer Banking & Merrill Edge, Northwest Division Executive, Bank of AmericaGioia McCarthy is the Consumer Banking & Merrill Edge, Northwest Division executive. She is responsible for leading the team of trusted advisors serving clients in over 612 financial centers in Northern California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.Gioia joined Merrill Edge/Bank of America in 2011 from a 21-year career with Wells Fargo where she served in a number of management positions. She had bank management responsibility for banking centers, districts, Business Segment Manger for Premier Online, Sales Development Management for Regional Bank Private Banking and Regional Sales Director for Southern CA, AZ & NV. She has extensive experience in strategic initiatives and operational responsibilities for the Affluent Segment coaching and performance management.Gioia joined Bank of America with the initial deployment of Merrill Edge as a Regional Sales Manager in North Orange County and then most recently a Region Sales Executive for Orange County/Los Angeles. As a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, Gioia has served as executive sponsor for Orange County Learning, Education, Advocacy and Development (LEAD) chapter and a member of the steering committee for the CA Women’s Leadership Program. In addition, she is an ally for our LGBT associates and a representative for the Employee Engagement and Diversity & Inclusion Council for Retail, Preferred & Small Business.During her career in both Northern and Southern CA, Gioia was involved with a number of charitable organizations, has served on local boards and held various leadership roles in community support campaigns.Gioia holds a B.S. in Business Administration/Entrepreneurial Finance from the University of Southern CA. She has two sons and currently lives in San Francisco, CA with her husband.

Mentors

Tiffany Myers | Vice President, Financial Planning Consultant, Fidelity InvestmentsI am a Vice President and Financial Consultant with Fidelity Investments in the San Francisco Center. I’m also a Certified Financial Planner™. I help families see how they can bring their financial and family visions into reality and find strategies to put their plans into action. I work with entrepreneurs, medical & finance professionals, and high level executives to help them analyze their estate plans, implement their investment strategies, and manage their charitable giving.My educational background from the University of California, Santa Barbara, was focused in Sociology and Psychology, with an intention to go down the path of becoming a teacher or family counselor. By chance, I took a job with a large bank over 15 years ago and became fascinated with the psychology of investing. Since then, I have been using my skills in both fields, combined with my financial certifications and experience, to help families achieve their financial goals and build generational wealth plans. I am now celebrating my 10 year anniversary with Fidelity Investments, working exclusively with high net worth and ultra-net worth families.I am passionate about all women taking an active interest in their financial wellness, which has led me to be an Ambassador for Fidelity’s Women Investor Team and on the steering committee for Fidelity’s Women in Leadership Group. I am also an active mentor to a handful of external organizations and volunteer at an organization that provides financial literacy programs to underprivileged youth.In my spare time, I love long runs around the city, paddle boarding, and attending local baseball games and musical theater productions. I have three of the most adorable nephews and enjoy spoiling them whenever I am able!and paddle boarding in the bay, as well as participating in local women’s organizations in the San Francisco area.

Melinda Richter | Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABSAs Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS (JLABS), Melinda Richter fosters the Johnson & Johnson Family ofCompanies external R&D engine and supports the innovation community by creating capital-efficient commercialization models that give early stage companies a big company advantage. By providing infrastructure, services, educational programs and networks inglobal hotspots,JLABS is thebest place to start a company working in healthcare, with a specific emphasis on Johnson & Johnson’s sectors:consumer, medical device and pharmaceuticals.Prior to joining JLABS, Melinda was Founder and CEO of Prescience International, an award-winning firm dedicated to accelerating research to the patient. Melinda founded Prescience after she had a medical emergency that left her questioning the efficiency and efficacy of the healthcare system. With the tenacity and resolveof a patient looking for a better solution, she set out to create a better model, which now forms the basis for JLABS’ operational infrastructure. Prior to starting Prescience, Melinda held posts across a variety of functional areas with a global corporation, Nortel Networks, in locations such as Research Triangle Park, New York, Toronto, London, Hong Kong and Beijing before arriving in San Francisco. She also initiated, raised capital and secured large corporate deals for several companies in both the life science and technology space. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada and a MBA from INSEAD in France. Melinda has received numerous industry awards including: the PharmaVOICE 100; Fierce Biotech Top 15 Women;Most Influential Women in Business (San Francisco Business Times); MM&M 2017 Healthcare Transformer;BIO Super Hero; andFastCompany Most Innovative Company in Biotech.Melinda is an active board member and Treasurer of the California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), a board member of BIO’sTechnology Transfer Committee, the Texas Health Catalyst Advisory Panel (The Dell Medical School and the Provost office of the University of Texas at Austin), the University of Toronto & Janssen Neuroscience Catalyst, A*STAR ETPL’s Strategic Advisory Panel.

Mentors

Helen Russell | Founder & CEO, Equator Coffees & TeasHelen Russell is the co-founder and CEO of Equator Coffees & Teas, Inc. in San Rafael, CA. Under her leadershipfor more than twenty years, Equator has grown from a small roaster and wholesale supplier into a national brandknown for its values-driven approach, award-winning coffee, and impactful action around issues of environmentalsustainability and economic empowerment.Helen led Equator to become the first coffee roaster in California to earn Certified B Corporation status and areputation as an early champion Fair Trade practices and direct relationships. For 12 years in a row, Equator hasremained on The San Francisco Business Times’ list of the Top 100 Women-Owned Businesses, and in 2016,became the first LGBT Certified business to win SBA Small Business of the Year for the State of California. After twodecades in the wholesale business, Helen guided Equator towards deepening its relationships with the localcommunity by opening seven retail locations in the Bay Area.Equator’s constant innovation and focus on quality and culinary complexity has attracted a loyal cadre of prominentchefs and bakers including Thomas Keller of The Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, Traci Des Jardins of Jardinière,Suzanne Goin of Tavern/Larder in LA, and Tyler Florence. The company also collected its most recent Good FoodAward for the first harvest from Equator’s own high-altitude coffee farm in Panama , Finca Sophia.In addition to Helen’s focus on Equator’s success, she has volunteered her time and business experience to local andinternational organizations supporting women and the environment including La Cocina Community Kitchen in SanFrancisco, the International Women in Coffee Alliance, and Brown Girl Surf. Helen has led efforts to make Equator asocially and environmentally responsible company by investing in an energy efficient roaster, a biodiesel deliverytruck, hybrid service vehicles, and by purchasing coffees and teas from growers who practice responsible landstewardship and bio-friendly farming techniques.Helen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University in Boston.

Laura Lederer Sagues | First Vice President, CBRELaura Sagues leads a San Francisco-based team with a focus on representation for best-in-class urban retail landlords and tenants. Laura’s current clients include Blackstone, Grosvenor, Jamestown, Vornado, Brookfield, CIM Group, Strada Investment Group, Prudential, Lane Partners and many more. She is consistently tapped to consult on investment sales from a leasing standpoint both internally at CBRE and by outside firms.Laura earned a Master’s Degree in City Planning and a Certificate in Real Estate Design and Development from the University of Pennsylvania. While finishing her Master’s, she was awarded a merit scholarship from New York Executive Women in Real Estate (WX).

Allison Tabor | Certified Professional Coach/Business Consultant, Coppia CommunicationsAs a successful CEO of her Executive Coaching and Consulting business, Allison helps entrepreneurs, executives and their teams in the areas of Leadership, Interpersonal Communication and Strategic Planning. Allison also facilitates for the International Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO) www.womenpresidentsorg.com, leading two peer advisory groups of Bay Area multi-million dollar entrepreneurial women presidents and CEO’s. Additionally, she is a group leader for ProVisors, a community of professionals who serve their clients as trusted advisors and share the highest standards of integrity, performance and accountability. Prior to her executive coaching business, Allison owned and led a successful structural engineering company with her husband for 23 years. She is certified as a DISC Consultant, One Page Business Plan® Specialist and Professional Coach. With a love of business and behavioral science, Allison is a Master Connector who seeks to understand and help people. She has made a difference with hundreds of executives in various industries including: professional services, manufacturing, retail, construction, hospitality and others, many of which are family owned.engineering firm with her husband for 23 years. She is certified as a DISC Consultant, One Page Business Plan® Specialist and Professional Coach.

Mentors

Minna Tao | General Manager, Recology Golden GateIn 2011 Minna joined Recology, as both the first Asian-American and first woman General Manager of Recology Golden Gate in it’s 95 year history. Prior to joining Recology, Minna served as Assistant Controller of a mid size international bank, as Deputy Assessor Recorder for the City and County of San Francisco, and as Business2Business Marketing Director with a leading technology company. In the community, she has served as a board member of Civicorps School East Bay Conservation Corp, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Equality California and Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club. She is proud to have served as Project Open Hand’s Board Chair and was appointed to the Alameda County Source Reduction and Recycling Board. Currently she serves as the Board Chair of the Chinese Cultural Center Foundation.

Julie Taylor | Executive Vice President - Retail, Colliers InterationalJulie Taylor works exclusively to serve the needs of retail real estate property owners, investors, and retailers. Her area of expertise spans the regional retail markets of the Bay Area and urban retail in San Francisco. Ms. Taylor is highly active in the Union Square trade area leasing flagship properties and representing luxury and urban retailers. She has leased more than 400,000 square feet totaling 56 transactions with an aggregate lease value of over $260 Million in the Union Square market. Ms. Taylor also leases regional centers throughout the Bay Area, performing ground up and in-fill leasing, and remerchandising assignments. She is known for her creative leasing strategies and her ability to communicate effectively with retailers. Ms. Taylor has had extensive experience representing chain stores expanding throughout Northern California.

Tracy Teale | Stockholder, RINA Accountancy CorporationTracy is the San Francisco Office Head and is the Chair of the Not-for-Profit Practice Group. With over 17 years of experience in public accounting and 10 years in private industry, Tracy is very knowledgeable in accounting issues faced by small to medium sized companies. She has experience in corporate, not-for-profit, partnership and S-Corporation audits and taxation. Tracy assists many of her clients with accounting issues and the design of processes and systems. Tracy is married and has 2 children who keep her very busy at home.

Mentors

Nina Tran | CFO, Veritas Investments Inc.Ms. Tran oversees Veritas’ finance and accounting, human resources, and business process improvement activities. She has more than 25 years of real estate and financial management experience, both in privately held companies and publicly traded real estate investment trusts (REITs). Prior to joining Veritas, she served as the Chief Financial Officer of Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust and spent 18 years at AMB Property Corporation (now Prologis, Inc.), where she served as Chief Global Process Officer and Chief Accounting Officer. Prior to that, she was Senior Associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Ann Thompson | Senior Vice President, Divisional Sales Executive, Consumer Lending, Northern California, Bank of AmericaAnn manages the Northern California Division for Consumer Lending, including 400 lending officers, in addition to their management team and support staff. The lending team originates approximately $10 Billion in first and second mortgages for Bank of America/Merrill Lynch clients and also for clients introduced by realtors, builders and previous clients. Ann holds a Bachelor of Arts from UCLA. She has enjoyed a 28 year career in banking, with a consistent emphasis in consumer lending, structured high net worth client lending and commercial lending.Ann serves on the Board of Trustees of the Oakland Museum of California and was named one of the “Bay Area’s Most Influential Women in Business” by the San Francisco Business Times in 2016 and was added to their “Forever Influential” list in 2017. She lives in the East Bay with her husband of 30 years and has two sons.

Serenity Thompson | Head, Strategic Marketing Practice, A23 Advisors; Director-At-Large, PBWCSerenity Thompson is a highly accomplished senior marketing executive with a 20-year track record of success achieving growth objectives within start-up, turnaround and rapid growth environments. She is a veteran of the digital marketing and social media ecosystems within design-, media- and tech-driven industries, pioneering cutting edge approaches such as gamification, experiential marketing and user generated content. As the head of the Marketing Practice for woman-founded/led/owned/operated boutique consulting firm A23 Advisors, Serenity combines design thinking, data-driven thought leadership, an acute understanding of content trends and digital fluency to deliver strategies for high growth, excellent customer experience and user adoption at scale. In her role at A23 Advisors, Serenity acts as Interim CMO for Shopography, a product discovery and price comparison app, and Bonwi, a hotel and car booking site for high-return travel rewards.Prior to A23 Advisors, Serenity was the Vice President of Global Marketing at Switchfly, responsible for the company’s global marketing strategy including communications, brand and creative, product marketing, content and demand generation. Serenity has held management roles at Serena Software and Action Corporation, and began her tech marketing career at Oracle. Serenity has also worked in consumer marketing for Martha Stewart Living and for several fashion designers. Serenity holds an undergraduate degree in Performing Arts from the University of California at Santa Cruz and earned her MBA in Marketing with Honors from the University of San Francisco. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Professional BusinessWomen of California (PBWC).

Mentors

Rosemary Turner | President, UPS North California District Rosemary Turner has 39 years of experience in the logistics industry all with UPS. She has exceptional leadership skills that have been honed by her expertise in analyzing market strategies to increase profitability, to manage business operations, implement organizational and cultural change and to over deliver on superior business execution. She is responsible for directing a cross-functional team and overseeing account-based revenue of more than $2 billion. She manages over 17,000 employees throughout Northern and Central California and Northern Nevada, including the metropolitan cities of Bakersfield, Oakland, Reno, San Francisco, San Jose, and Santa Barbara.

Paige Venable | Managing Director, KPMG LLPPaige is a Managing Director in KPMG’s San Francisco Advisory Risk Assurance practice with a focus on Internal Audit; Sarbanes-Oxley assisted services; Enterprise Risk Management (ERM); and Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC). Paige has over 16 years of experience providing advisory and audit services to domestic and global clients.Paige joined KPMG’s Audit Practice in 2001 and KPMG’s Advisory Practice in 2004. Her primary industries include financial services and technology. Paige has assisted her clients achieve their strategic initiatives and develop methodology and processes for a variety of workstreams, as well as quality assurance reviews; GRC readiness and implementations, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and internal audit co-source and outsource engagements. Paige demonstrates the ability to manage complex projects utilizing her strong organizational and project management skills.Paige is serving as the 2017 President of the Financial Women of San Francisco (FWSF), a non-profit organization, and has served as a Board Member since 2012. In 2016, Paige was honored as the FWSF’s Most Distinguished Member of the Year. In her role as the Sponsorship Co-Chair, she raised more than $740K in corporate in-kind and cash contributions in 2012-2013 and in her role as the Scholarship Co-Chair, she granted nearly $300K in scholarships in 2014-2016.In 2017, Paige appeared on Bay Area Focus in a one-one-one interview with KPIX 5’s news Anchor Michelle Griego and discussed how it continues to be difficult for women in every industry to break through the glass ceiling and what women can do to excel in their career and obtain senior management positions by growing their professional network, sharing their successes and being true to themselves. http://financialwomensf.org/fwsf-president-paige-venable-shares-how-women-can-break-through-the-glass-ceiling-on-bay-area-focusPaige was selected as one of the Bay Area’s Most Influential Women in Business for 2017 by the San Francisco Business Times; was awarded the KPMG San Francisco Office Managing Partner Perpetual Trophy for Volunteerism in 2013; is an active member of KPMG’s Network of Women (KNOW) and other diversity programs; and is serving her second year as the Co-Chair of KPMG’s Advisory Employer of Choice Council. She has been a National Instructor since 2004; served as a People Management Leader since 2005; and has been recognized year over year for mentoring her colleagues.Paige is a Certified Control Self-Assessment (CCSA) and Certified Risk Management Assurance (CRMA) professional and has been a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) since 2004.

Mentors

Aisha Wahab | Board Member, Afghan Coalition & Tri-City VolunteersAisha Wahab, is an organizer and activist, who has been deeply involved throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Born in New York City and raised in the Bay Area, she is a seasoned professional with a background in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. As an independent thinker, she has served the community on a wide variety of topics ensuring the voice of the disenfranchised is heard. Aisha has worked on issues of domestic violence, affordable housing, immigration, women’s rights and civic engagement. A talented woman who is at the intersection of social impact, technology, and community organizing. Her broad-based experience has allowed her to serve in a variety of different leadership positions from Chair of the Alameda County Human Relations Commission to board member of various non-profits such as Abode Services, Tri-City Volunteers, and the Afghan Coalition.Aisha was highlighted in the January 2017 issue of San Francisco Magazine’s “The Resistance”, a San Francisco Business Times’ 2017 Most Influential Women in Business (Bay Area) , an American Graduate Champion by PBS-KLRU, and was a member of the White House’s Afghan American Leaders Roundtable. She has been featured on a variety of media outlets, featured in the Commonwealth Club, and honored by California State Senator Bob Weickowski with the 2016 Unity Award. She continues to build community, promote social justice, and ensure everyone has an opportunity.Aisha Wahab has a B.A. in Political Science and an MBA.

Villy Wang | CEO, Founder and President, BaycatVilly Wang had a crazy dream: to create a new kind of social enterprise that helps kids who, like her, grew up in the projects. Raised by an immigrant single mother in NYC, Villy’s desire to tell her Mom’s story forged a passion for using digital media arts to capture stories untold and to ultimately start a business to end racism, one story at a time. Leveraging her impressive 25+year background in banking, law, education, media, arts, and nonprofit management, Villy and her team at BAYCAT have been changing not only the stories that get told, but the storytellers who get to tell them. Their social enterprise model creates a direct path from education to employment for low-income youth and for those historically underrepresented and misrepresented in media while supplying nonprofits and socially responsible corporate partners the ability to tell stories that make a positive social impact in their communities. After 13 years, BAYCAT has educated close to 4,000 students in media production, trained and employed over 200 interns through its studio, created media for over 250 organizations and nonprofits, and provided over $1mm in pro-bono media services. She and BAYCAT have been tackling the lack of diversity in the tech, media and creative industries, and have placed 80% of its graduates, primarily women and young people of color into creative careers with partners like Lucasfilm, Pixar, SF Giants, Golden State Warriors Studio, HBO, Netflix, Autodesk and Wired. In addition to BAYCAT’s award-winning youth media appearing in 44 film festivals, BAYCAT’s work has had international, national and local impact for clients such as Super Bowl 50, Yahoo!, Bank of the West, Union Bank, Citibank, Golden State Warriors, The San Francisco Foundation, The Japan Society, The National Park Service, United Way Bay Area, and the SF Public Utilities Commission. Villy is a Bay Area Jefferson Award winner, a TED Speaker, and named one of 2017’s Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by SF Business Times. Her success stories and those of her youth have been covered by the press, including Forbes, The Huffington Post, NPR, KQED, 7x7, Profiles of Excellence, The Examiner, The SF Business Times, and recognized as one of the top 50 Drucker Prize 2017 semifinalists and by the United Nations as one their top 70 Digital Leaders. Villy has been asked to share her story and BAYCAT’s unique hybrid business educational model on the stages of TED@IBM, SXSWedu, National Association of Broadcasters, Silicon Valley Goes to Oxford University in Oxford, England, The Japan Society in Tokyo and Kyoto, as a keynote for the Korean Ministry of Arts and Culture Conference in Korea, and the National Committee on US-China Relations with the Ministry of Education from China. Villy earned a double BA in Engineering and Economics from Brown University, JD degree from Northwestern University, and her teaching credential from San Francisco State University . Villy is a Leadership San Francisco alumna, class of 2008. In addition to her love for producing media and teaching the next generation of media makers, she is also President of the SF Film Commission.

Mentors

Mary Wardell-Ghirarduzzi | Vice Provost and CDO, University of San FranciscoRecognized as a 2017 Most Influential Woman by the San Francisco Business Times, Dr. Mary J. Wardell has served as the inaugural chief diversity officer of the University of San Francisco since 2011, and during that time she has made notable advancement to the campus climate for equity and inclusion at San Francisco’s first institution of higher education. During Dr. Wardell’s tenure at USF the campus has moved up to the 2nd most ethnically diverse university in the nation, named the 2nd best law school in nation for Latino students to succeed, and was named in 2014 by Diverse Issues in Higher Education as the number one non-HBCU university in the nation for undergraduate African American student success.Appointed by Mayor Edwin Lee to serve as the President of the San Francisco Library Commission stewarding a budget of $124M for a system of 28 libraries, Mary has impacted the futures of thousands of college students as well as hundreds of thousands of residents through access to resources and educational pathways at one of the Bay Areas’ most celebrated anchor institutions. She also serves on the executive boards of the Urban Libraries Council in Washington, D.C and the San Francisco Interfaith Council.Prior to her CDO role at USF, Mary served as the USF Associate Vice President and Dean of Students leading and supporting campus-wide student services, including behavioral intervention and crisis response; she was the chief student affairs officer at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, and the Assistant Dean of Students at the California State University, San Marcos.Vice Provost Wardell has a bachelor’s in communication from the University of the Pacific, a masters’ in counseling and social justice education from San Diego State University and a doctorate in education from Pepperdine University. Mary enjoys spending her time with her husband, daughters, botanic gardens, singing, and practicing yoga.In 1998, DeeDee founded ProActive with two employees. She has since grown the company to over 200

Shari Yocum | Principal, Ernst & YoungShari Yocum is a Principal in Ernst & Young LLP’s People Advisory Services Practice. With more than twenty years of experience, Shari has successfully advised global companies on complex mergers & acquisitions, large corporate change initiatives, and HR transformations. Shari is often cited in industry publications on Human Resources Strategy and Post-Merger Integration issues. She contributes to a number of well-known business publications, and has published a number of her own articles. Shari speaks regularly at industry conferences.Prior to joining Ernst & Young LLP, Shari co-founded Tasman Consulting LLC (2010), a Silicon Valley-based M&A human capital advisory offering a broad range of human resource integration consulting services, from due diligence and pre- announce planning, through to post close across virtually all deal types, both in the United States and across borders. Tasman’s team joined Ernst & Young LLP in April 2016.Prior to forming Tasman, Shari was an executive at Cisco Systems, where she led their HR Mergers and Acquisitions organization, providing leadership and guidance in over US$10 billion of Cisco acquisition investment. Having managed over 50 acquisitions, Shari held a key role in building the next generation of integration strategy.Prior to joining Cisco, Shari worked for PricewaterHouseCoopers and several Fortune 500 companies, including Nortel and Management Systems Associates.At both PricewaterHouseCoopers and MSA, Shari was part of their highly technical Management Consulting organization and focused on the healthcare vertical providing system implementation and business process re-engineering.Shari co-founded the original HR M&A forum in 2000 and later the Silicon Valley Human Resources Mergers & Acquisitions Community of Practice in 2013. She is based in San Francisco, California.

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